The First Annual In Moderation Context Check
No one was prepared for what happened next.
It has occurred to me that the stuff I send out each Thursday is often pretty random and free-of-context.
So for the (very welcome) new subscribers and people who don’t know me that well or at all, consider this that context:
My name is James. I’m originally from Sydney in Australia, but have lived in London since 2013. Until recently I worked as a creative director at the advertising agency Mother London. A few months ago I left and am now working for myself under the loose banner ‘Moderation Projects.’
I don’t know exactly what this venture will become - but my favourite projects so far have been ones where I use the skills I’ve developed working in advertising to help people to feel known and understood (intentionally vague). I also still enjoy helping creative agencies with client projects and pitches.
This newsletter - In Moderation - is my personal writing and the grand total of my internet presence.
The stuff I post here is a mix of greatest hits, old pieces that were published elsewhere, extracts from long-abandoned fiction, old stuff about pubs, new stuff about pubs, stuff about ads, stuff about working in ads and the odd thing I wrote in 30 minutes late on a Wednesday night.
Anyway, whether I know you or not (even if you opened this by mistake and hated it), thank you! I fucken love the attention!
Coping Mechanism
Below is an essay about watches I wrote for issue 26 of Apartamento Magazine, which came out in print towards the end of 2020. It ran over 10 pages and was beautifully illustrated by Oscar Gronner.
21. Combos, Man-Mom (2006)
I’ve been reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It’s a book outlining a 12-week course in which the author - in a kind-vibed and very 1990s-in-California way (the cover blurb is by the author of Eat, Pray, Love) - proposes a system for repressed or blocked creative people to discover and recover their creatives selves.
My Advertising Portfolio, Chapter 1
Over the years, colleagues and recruiters have suggested that I should have a portfolio of the ads I have made so I can get offered jobs. I’ve tried a million times, but I can’t do it. Uploading all your ads to a little Squarespace site? Yuck! Listing your industry awards and shortlists? Humiliating.
The Eagle in Farringdon
There are pubs for everyday use (your work local, your home local etc) and then there are the ones you designate as special. The Eagle is a special pub for me.
Notes from a meaningful life
Last week I watched this YouTube video where two guys participated in 30 viral health trends for 30 days.
Australian Subdistrict Rugby Haikus
The first winter I lived in London I wrote hundreds and hundreds of haikus, mostly about the life I didn’t yet realise I was missing. Versions of these have been published by McSweeneys and collected in this book of poetry. I’m still so proud of them and - if anyone wants to publish them - I think they would make a great one of those dumb books they sel…
Made in Mount Colah
At 9pm, the music turned down and Richard stood on top of the chair on top of the pergola he’d made with his own hands and announced that he was going to say a couple of words to the birthday boy. There were a few cheers of approval and a male voice yelled “Go you good thing, Rich!” — which Richard thought was fantastic.